Trials of consumer computing devices with end-users at an early stage in the development process can provide very useful information which enables a developer to assess the value of the device and determine whether it warrants further development. Feedback from trials can also inform developers about changes that may be required to the device to make it more useful, more user friendly etc. Such trials require the production of prototype devices which is time consuming and expensive, particularly because several iterations are likely to be required. This is particularly applicable to development of embedded hardware, which is often integral to consumer computing devices, due to the electronic and industrial design requirements that accompany software development.
These problems in developing prototypes for user trials are compounded by the fact that users are used to sophisticated technology and in order for trials to be effective, the prototypes need to be sufficiently representative of the final product in terms of size, weight, robustness, performance etc. Use of large, unwieldy prototypes in user trials can result in meaningless data because the users are unable to see beyond the shortcomings of the prototype and therefore they do not use the devices in a realistic manner. However to develop representative prototypes it is necessary to perform virtually the same steps as for creating the actual product, e.g. designing a PCB and having it made and assembling the device. This leads to large upfront costs and is very time-consuming and expensive to iterate because PCB re-spins will almost certainly be required.